The present invention is directed to striker fired pistols. In particular, the present invention is directed to ease and safety of disassembly of striker fired pistols without requiring the pulling of the trigger of the pistol.
In striker fired pistols, when the pistol is in a battery position, a seer engages the striker (i.e., the pistol element that springs forward to strike a pistol cartridge to discharge the firearm). The seer is caused to rotate by movement of the pistol's trigger. In the past, when disassembly of the pistol is desired, generally, the trigger must be pulled such that the sear releases the striker. However, if proper safety procedures are not taken and the pistol is inadvertently left loaded in the barrel, a dangerous condition may be present. It would be beneficial to have a mechanism to avoid the requirement to pull the trigger to disengage the sear from the striker.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,303,936 (Toner) is one invention that attempts to resolve this issue. Here, the frame assembly includes a takedown safety lever and takedown actuation lever.
Movement of the takedown safety lever causes the sear to be moved such that subsequent slide motion will not result in storage of striker energy. Movement of the takedown safety lever is only possible when the slide is retracted beyond a point at which a chambered round would be ejected. Removal of the slide does not require pulling the trigger.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.